Come Back To Me
by Libquedation
Summary: The crew onboard Serenity learns that it is problematic when River's stone is taken away, especially since she will go to any lengths to bring him back to her. River/Jayne


**I know there are multiple fics out there where River and Jayne secretly love each other, then Jayne ends up in a coma or some such, then River manages to kick him out of it. BUT! This was an eerily realistic dream I had about a week ago, which wont leave me until I type it out, so enjoy! :D Tell me what you think! **

**Note: Wash and Book are still alive. Isn't it funny how the two characters who die in the BDM are named after a verb/noun (wash) and another noun (book)? Ah well.**

**Disclaimer: Really? Joss is boss, in no way do I own Firefly (although if I did, there would have been 3 more seasons, minimum XD)**

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><p>This job really sucked in Jayne's opinion.<p>

The large mercenary and a pregnant Zoë were crouched behind some boxes in a huge warehouse, trying to lay down some suppressing fire so that Mal and River could escape safely. However, now Zoë and Jayne were stuck behind the boxes, eyeing the door to their right as bullets rained in the boxes and the wall behind them.

"When?" Asked Jayne as he popped up over the top of the boxes and shot a few rounds off with Vera. "I'm almost out."

"Me too. Soon. Apparently River's got a plan." Zoë shouted from beside Jayne. Due to her pregnant nature, the big man had become very protective of her as of late. Everyone on board found it pleasantly amusing. But right now, Jayne was just hoping Zoë would be smart and figure out how to get them out of there.

Jayne dropped back down and bullets rained into the wall behind them, causing little splinters to jump down and bite at their skin. He grimaced, not wanting to show just how much little cuts actually did hurt.

"Mal, any time now!" Zoë barked into her com, her fingers clutching at her Mare's Leg like it was her lifeline.

Might as well had been in this situation.

"_One second." _Rang in Jayne's ear. He grit his teeth.

"Gorramit Mal, now!"

"_Okay, okay, don't get your panties in a bunch." _

With that, the sound of guns shooting turned to the slash of metal and the disturbing screams of grown men in their dying throes. Jayne grinned, for he knew that was the Moonbrain's doing.

After waiting a few seconds, Jayne shot a look over the boxes and then over the railing. They had taken up a position on the second floor, and before all they had seen was a bunch of muzzle flashes. Now, there was nothing but bodies with pools of blood. Jayne caught sight of River, and her head whipped up, giving him a smile. He smiled back, knowing she would be able to feel it if she couldn't see it.

"C'mon Zoë." Jayne said, standing up and pulling the second to her feet. She gave him a nod of appreciation, before walking in the direction of the door, her gun sitting loosely in her hands. She took up a position on the side of the door, and Jayne stationed himself right in front. At Zoë's nod, he kicked it down and stepped outside into the sun, quickly looking all around.

"Clear." He said, stepping aside to let Zoë through.

As they took their first step in the direction of _Serenity, _Jayne's ears perked up at the high pitched whistling he hear. It made his blood freeze, and in an instant, he had lunged towards Zoë and wrapped her in his arms, throwing them to the ground, his body over hers.

As the grenade exploded right above their heads, Jayne's had one final thought.

_Aw hell, River's gonna kill me._

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><p>The Reader's head shot up as she <em>felt <em>the explosion reverberate in her bones, and a scream tore past her lips. Mal instantly tried to get through to both of his crew, before paging into his ship and telling Wash to come swoop in and save their asses.

But River didn't care.

She slipped her swords back into their sheaths as she ran towards the stairs, taking them three at a time. When she reached the solid door, she kicked it open, another scream racing past her lips at the sight before her.

Zoë was trying in vain to wake up an unconscious Jayne. Blood matted both of them, but River _knew _it was mostly Jayne's. She also knew and sent a prayer up in thanks to all the deities that the baby boy was safe and sound in the womb. But then her attentions focused on Jayne.

"Jayne, Jayne, Jayne, Jayne!" She shouted, high pitched and shrilly. Mal's hands gripped River's arms, yanking her back from the large man, and she tried in vain to get away. They both knew that she could easily, but River _really _didn't feel like hurting Captain Daddy at this point in time. If Jayne died, yeah, there would be some hell to pay.

"No, no, no, NO!" River shrieked as _Serenity _landed before the building. Simon and Book came down the steps, carrying a stretcher between them. Simon's eyes flicked towards River as she struggled and cried within Mal's embrace, but she shoved a thought towards him.

_**Fine, Jayne, NOW!**_

Simon nodded, and River was passed into Inara's arms as she walked down the steps, graceful as ever, even when retired. River buried her face into the thick black curls and sobbed, feeling helpless as ever as she felt her rock fade away…

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><p>River and Jayne had made a pact long ago to always, <strong>always <strong>look out for each other, and to come back alive. River had insisted that Jayne was her rock, her large turtle, making everything stable and easy to understand. Simon and Mal had been shaken at her declaration, believing it to be one of romantic origin.

It had taken all of _Serenity's _females to sway the men to a more realistic outlook.

Since then however, River had become much more stable and lucid, only having some breakdowns and bad days. Jayne was always there, and everyone noticed how the gruff mercenary had softened up some, become less crude and mean, and was more of a member of the crew than ever before.

So, considering that River's turtle had been trapped in a coma for the last week and a half was wearing hard on all of the crew. Simon knew there was nothing he could do besides continuing to pump the large man full of fluids and pray.

But what more concerning than a coma (Mal had one really bad one where he was under for little more than two weeks after a nasty encounter with Niska. Wash had been right beside him for three days. Thankfully, they managed to kill the old bastard the second time around) was the fact that all River had done was curl up in a ball on the couch across from the infirmary. Her eyes had gotten glazed over, and she only ever moved when she was forced to eat and required use of the facilities. Other than that, she was a stone.

"River, you have to eat." Simon coaxed, trying to get his sister to respond. It absolutely broke his heart seeing her like this, and it also made a little nagging voice in his head speak up.

_Obviously, your sister has an infatuation with the man-ape._

Which was just about the last thing Simon ever, ever wanted to hear. He chose to ignore the voice, but he knew that River would be able to hear it anyways. Simon had some sort of false hope that the voice would shock her into movement, into _life. _

But, alas, it had not, and Simon felt his everlasting hope dwindling every day. He really hated seeing his wife, Kaylee, usually a ball of sunshine, all dimmed out in worry over the man she considered to be her older brother. He hated seeing how everyone tiptoed around each other, trying not to speak unless it was necessary when they collected for dinner. He hated how the Shepherd would sometimes stand over Jayne's large form, reading his Bible.

But Simon mostly hated how unresponsive his sister was. It made him feel insignificant, as if Jayne was the absolute most important man in her life. Even when Simon had felt like her was going to face imminent death after being shot in the stomach, River had not froze, and instead had kicked some serious Reaver ass. It made Simon feel like he did not matter quite as much.

"Don't be a boob." Simon jumped at the sound of his sister's voice. It was shaky and cracked, very quiet as well. He looked at her, and her eyes were sad, piercing him into the heart, for he knew there was nothing he could do to fix it.

"River, mei-mei-"

"Shh." River lifted a finger slowly and placed it over Simon's lips. "You mean so much. Saved me, from everything. Turtle means more, in a different way. Important to another part of the heart."

With that, Simon felt the nagging voice take over his mind.

_Told you she loved him. _

"Mind is right." Simon winced at her words, then froze, trying not to upset her. River gave him a small smile. "She loves her stone. More than she ever thought. Hurts, missing pieces to the puzzle. Not whole, only a half. Half of a heart."

"Oh, mei-mei." Simon said, slowly wrapping his arms around his sister. He rocked them back and forth slowly, stroking her messy hair. He winced when he snagged his finger on a particularly rough tangle, but River didn't seem to notice. The apathetic way she just sat there made his heart drop.

"No sadness. Only emptiness." River whispered in a sing-song voice. The obvious sadness in her tone and the whispery way she said it made Simon almost shudder. River turned her chocolate eyes onto her brother. "It will all work out okay." She said, patting his shoulder. "Duty calls." She said, pushing on his shoulder, just as Kaylee walked around the corner slowly.

"Simon?" At his wife's voice and discomfort about being so close to the prone mercenary made Simon's heart give a pathetic twinge. He winced, then stood, placing a kiss on his sister's forehead.

"It will be okay." He repeated her words quietly, before standing and walking over to Kaylee. Simon wrapped his arms around her shoulders, giving her a loving kiss on her forehead. "Let's go get some dinner." He said softly. Kaylee nodded, her lips tight as she tried to not look at Jayne's form. Simon gently steered her away, and River shuddered, falling back into her stone-like state.

River's theory was that if she made herself into a stone, maybe, just maybe, Jayne's inner stone would awaken and come back to her.

But that theory was starting to lose some hold in her slippery mind. She had been sitting like this for 10 days, 4 hours, 47 minutes, and 32 seconds.

Obviously it wasn't working quite yet.

River's mind began turning over her other plans. The one she _knew _would work was frightening with the way that her gege and daddy would react. But she _knew _it would work. Just the act of having to get up and do it. Frightening idea.

But it would work.

River slowly uncurled herself from the prone position she had been in while on the couch and unfolded her limbs, trying to get the feeling back into her extremities. She slowly stood, and on wobbly legs, walked into the infirmary, looking down at the large man. His breathing was slow and steady, as was his heartbeat. River reached down and ran her fingers lightly down his face, feeling the stubble beneath her hand. She ignored how it _felt _as if Jayne leaned into her touch, and instead she bent down and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"Coming for you my stone." She whispered into his ear, before pulling over a stool and placing it right beside him. River grasped his large hand in her own and pulled it towards her heart, then she slowly leaned down, placing her ear right over his chest, under which his heart beat. It lulled her into a stupor, and as River closed her eyes, she reached out with her mind, using the touching of their skin as a pathway.

"I'm coming. I promise."

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><p>"Simon, you better come down here." Book's voice echoed over the intercom. Simon and Kaylee locked eyes and hopped to their feet, tools scattering all over the floor of the engine room. Clasping their hands together, they rushed in the direction of the infirmary, running into the rest of the crew as well.<p>

"Wo de ma." Simon heard Mal say as the doctor rounded the corner and peered into his infirmary.

"What in the spincter of hell is going on?" Simon practically growled. His baby sister was possessively lying across Jayne's torso, and as Simon walked over and tried to pry her off of him, a small, pale hand shot out and grasped his wrist tight enough to cause him to gasp in shock and pain.

"River, what-"

"Leave." Her voice came out cold and distant. Her eyes remained closed but her grip tightened, causing Simon to inhale sharply.

"River-"

"She's fixing it. Fixing everything. Leave." She said, in that same hollow voice. Simon pulled back his hand and slowly backed up, leaning against the wall of the infirmary. He slid down until he was sitting and placed his head in his hands.

"What the hell. What the hell, what the hell, what the hell!" He groaned. Kaylee placed a hand on his shoulder.

"C'mon Simon, let's do what she said." Kaylee whispered, her voice wavering a little in fear. Simon knew it was fear for River, as well as from River-induced pain.

The crew gathered outside of the infirmary, well aware that they were missing two of their most boisterous members.

"We will station a watch right here. Two hour shifts, all of us taking a rotation besides Zoë, don't protest! You're pregnant and not going to stress yourself or the baby out even more." Mal said, glaring at his second in command. She nodded, but Mal recognized the stoic, stubborn look that graced her visage. "C'mon people. Get back to what you were doing. I'll stay first." Mal said, before plopping himself down in the chair that had a direct view between the infirmary's doors. He placed his booted feet on the table and grabbed one of the books that sat on top of it, flipping through the pages. The rest of the crew stood and dispersed, whispering among themselves.

All that is, except Inara. She stayed, looking at Mal with an incredulous look on her face. After a moment, the former soldier looked up into his lover's eyes.

"What?"

"You know you don't have to stage a watch, Mal. You're just doing it to state the rest of the crew's nerves."

"So? It'll help them out." Mal said with a shrug before going back to his book, trying to block out Inara's piercing gaze. "What, woman?"

"I'll be in our shuttle." She said carefully, standing up and placing a chaste kiss on his cheek. Mal gave her a smile before ducking his eyes back to the book, trying not to stare at Inara's backside as she walked away.

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><p>"River-girl?" The deep voice echoed all around her being, vibrating inside of her. River looked around, nodding, as she took in the scenery. It was dark, dismal, and just <em>empty. <em>She was standing on a cliff overlooking an angry ocean that roiled at least a hundred feet below her. The sky was dark, cloudy, except for one single star and a full moon, a deep red color. Sitting on the edge of the cliff was a hunched over figure that River could recognize anywhere.

Placing one foot in front of the other, River made her way to Jayne. She masked the shock and depression she felt as she took in how pale and sunken his face was.

"It's me." She whispered, her voice seeming much more loud than usual. "Come back to me my stone. Please."

"I can't move River. I've tried, I can't." Jayne whispered, his eyes staring into the black ocean below. "Can't anywhere except down." River felt as Jayne lifted his weight onto his arms, seeming to get ready to push himself over the cliff. As a huge jolt of fear ripped through her, River reached out and yanked backwards on his neck, pulling Jayne on top of her. She grunted as his weight pressed the air out of her lungs, but she rolled away.

"You can move, just with a force applied." she wheezed out. Jayne lay there, stunned, his eyes staring at the red moon.

"The moon, it's so red."

"My stone, come back." River said, kneeling beside his prone form. She reached out and stroked his face, and this time, he leaned into her hand, sighing.

"I can't move."

"Yes you can! You just did!" River protested. She stood and grasped the large hand in her own two ones and pulled Jayne into a sitting position. His eyes however, never left the moon, which River noted was growing a darker red, then suddenly got a lot lighter.

"Jayne, my Jayne. Please, I need you."

River didn't ponder to think why she could think and speak so clearly here, but she embraced it and continued speaking.

"Jayne, you are my rock, my stone. Come back to me, I cannot live without you. The clownfish cannot be without the anemone, the lightning without the thunder. You alight the fire that runs through me, you are my everything." River whispered, grasping Jayne's hand tightly in her own. At her declaration, Jayne slowly peeled his eyes from the moon that was growing ever lighter and looked at her.

"So beautiful. My Moonbrain, my moon." Jayne whispered, placing his hand on River's cheek. She shivered from the contact and leaned into it. Their faces slowly leaned closer together, and their breath mingled between them. They froze, mere centimeters from each other.

"I love you River."

"And I love you my Jayne."

With that, their lips clashed, and unbeknownst to them, the moon changed colors rapidly, from a light red to a dark blue, then fluctuating back between the colors before settling on a bright, pure white, illuminating everything around them. The clouds parted and dissipated, the raging waters below calmed down, and the stars twinkled brightly on the surface.

As the couple broke apart, panting, they looked into each others' eyes, light blue into chocolate.

"What does this mean?" Jayne asked, running his hands through her hair. River sighed and leaned into him.

"We face the war cries. But you must come back. Come back to me, stay with me forever."

"We can stay here River-girl. Nothing to harm us." Jayne said, wrapping his arms tightly around her midsection and pulling River onto his lap.

"But we have others who need us all the same. If our bodies get injured, we won't be here anymore. Up there, more certainty."

Jayne sighed and nuzzled his face into River's neck, gently nipping her skin there. She sighed and leaned into the touch, but then pulled away.

"Must leave. Come back Jayne."

River stood in a fluid motion and reached out her hand to Jayne. "Come back with me."

They stood there like that for an immeasurable about of time. Their eyes continued to stare into their own, but River's eye caught the slight movement of Jayne shifting his weight to one arm. Very carefully, he managed to reach up to River, clasping their hands together. River blinked, and when she opened her eyes, she was looking down the strong, lean torso of a still-unconscious Jayne.

Gingerly, River sat up, her eyes roaming up Jayne's body before latching onto his eyes, watching with bated breath as they slowly opened, the blue orbs staring into her own.

"My Jayne." She whispered, reaching up and stroking his cheek as a single tear ran down her face. "My stone."

"River." He breathed, closing his eyes for a moment. He licked his lips, trying to get some moisture. River leaned down and slowly placed her own lips on his. Jayne's eyes shot open for a moment, before slipping closed as he deepened the kiss.

The two lay there, coupled in a warm embrace, reveling in their discovered feelings and their love for each other.

That is, until a certain male doctor decided to walk in.

As he ranted and raved and checked Jayne's vital signs, River decided that while the plan was risky and part of the outcome was an annoying little gnat buzzing around her head, as her hand never stopped clenching Jayne's, it was totally worth the annoyance.


End file.
